David Cameron coalition team in first cabinet meeting

David Cameron is preparing for his first cabinet meeting as prime minister as he puts the finishing touches to his historic coalition government.

The Tory leader will announce a string of junior government posts, which will include further Lib Dem appointments.

He began the business of government on Wednesday evening with a first meeting of the new National Security Council.

It followed a press conference in the No 10 garden with deputy prime minister and coalition partner Nick Clegg.

The two men joked together as they set out what they wanted to achieve with their unprecedented power sharing arrangement - which Mr Cameron said could mark a "seismic shift" in British politics.

In addition to Mr Clegg, four other Lib Dems will be sitting around the cabinet table when the ministers gather at 0900 BST.

They are Vince Cable, who is business secretary; Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws; Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne; and Scottish Secretary Danny Alexander.

ID cards

There are expected to be 20 Liberal Democrat ministers at all levels across many departments, meaning nearly half of the parliamentary party will be members of the government.

The majority of cabinet ministers carry on with the briefs they held in opposition but there was a return to frontline politics for former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who becomes work and pensions secretary.

Theresa May was a surprise appointment as home secretary and she has already spoken of the challenges ahead as she tries to square the conflicting priorities of the coalition partners and deliver their jointly agreed programme.

She told BBC News: "We will be scrapping ID cards but also introducing an annual cap on the number of migrants coming into the UK from outside the European union."

She said there was a "process to be gone through" to decide the annual limit. The coalition government was committed to introducing elected police commissioners and cutting police paperwork to "give the police more time on the streets," she added.

On the DNA database, she said: "We are absolutely clear we need to make some changes in relation to the DNA database. For example one of the first things we will do is to ensure that all the people who have actually been convicted of a crime and are not present on it are actually on the DNA database.

"The last government did not do that. It focused on retaining the DNA data of people who were innocent. Let's actually make sure that those who have been found guilty are actually on that database."

National Security

One junior government post was revealed on Wednesday evening, when Dame Pauline Neville-Jones took her seat as security minister at the first meeting of the National Security Council.

The body, made up of senior ministers, military chiefs and the heads of the security services, discussed the military situation in Afghanistan.

It was also briefed on the UK's wider strategic and security position.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague were among those who attended the Downing Street meeting.

The council was set up on Wednesday to co-ordinate the efforts of government departments and agencies to safeguard UK security.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister this evening chaired the first meeting of the newly established National Security Council.

"The prime minister began the meeting by paying a full tribute to the UK's armed forces and expressed his personal admiration and gratitude for their dedication and sacrifice.

"He then received briefings on the political and military situation in Afghanistan, including from his new National Security Adviser, Sir Peter Ricketts, and from the Chief of the Defence Staff [Sir Jock Stirrup]. The prime minister was then updated on the wider UK security situation."

The Labour Party has meanwhile started the process of choosing a new leader after the resignation of Gordon Brown, who stood down as prime minster on Tuesday when it became clear that the Lib Dems had decided to join the Tories in a coalition.

Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband became the first potential candidate to announce plans to stand, saying he hoped others would follow suit. He has the backing of heavyweight figures including former home secretary Alan Johnson and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman, both of whom have ruled themselves out of the running.

Backbench Labour MP John Cruddas, who came third in Labour's 2007 deputy leadership contest, has also said he is thinking about standing.

Doctors 'cause blood pressure to rise'

The 'white-coat' effect - where blood pressure rises during a check by a doctor - is even worse in someone whose level is already high, researchers say.

The effect is due to patients becoming stressed by being in a doctor's surgery or a hospital.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, an Australian team say giving people a cuff to wear for 24 hours is a better way of checking blood pressure.

A UK expert said it showed clearly that external factors affected readings.

Many people feel slightly anxious when going to see a doctor Professor Graham MacGregor, Blood Pressure Association

High blood pressure affects about 40% of adults in the UK and is a major risk factor for heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and stroke.

In 2001, 90 million prescriptions for blood pressure lowering drugs were issued by the NHS at a cost of £840 million.

It can either be measured in a clinical setting, or by the patient wearing a cuff as they go about their daily lives - known as ambulatory blood pressure checks.

The researchers monitored over 8,500 patients who were being assessed at 11 blood pressure clinics around Australia.

They compared ambulatory blood pressure measurements with those taken by doctors and nurses and found that there can be a difference of as much as 29 units if a doctor checked it, compared with a rise of 17 units if a nurse took the measurement.

The differences also varied depending on the sex and age of the patient.

However, the study also found that the closer the patient's blood pressure to normal levels, the less of a difference between measurements taken by ambulatory monitoring and those taken by a nurse or doctor.

No 'one size fits all'

Professor Arduino Mangoni, who recently joined the University of Aberdeen from Flinders University in Adelaide, said: "Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is the tool of choice to correctly diagnose high blood pressure.

"Clearly, if you're going to be treating a person for the rest of their life, you want to get the readings right, and often the reading in the doctor's office is much higher."

Professor Mangoni said the fact there was a difference between doctors' readings and ambulatory measurements was already known - but the surprise finding was how big the gap was for those with high blood pressure.

He said the team's findings should be used to help shape new blood pressure monitoring guidelines.

"Current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension don't pay enough attention to the role of ambulatory monitoring, often adopting a one- size-fits-all approach which doesn't properly address different patient groups."

Writing in the BMJ, Professor Richard McManus, a cardiovascular expert from the University of Birmingham, said a patient's care should be managed using clinic-based and ambulatory measurements, taking into account where the test was done and by whom.

Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of the Blood Pressure Association, said: "This is interesting research which clearly illustrates how external factors such as environment and who is checking blood pressure can have a significant impact on blood pressure readings.

"Many people feel slightly anxious when going to see a doctor, which is why we have always encouraged blood pressure measuring at home as well as in the clinic, and promotes the use of home blood pressure monitors and ambulatory testing where indicated.

"This research may well be considered as part of the review of the NICE [National Institute of health and Clinical Excellence] guidelines for the treatment of hypertension which is currently being conducted, and will be released next year."

Turkey MPs back key constitutional changes

Turkey's parliament has approved all but one of 27 controversial changes to the constitution, which critics say could undermine the secular courts.

The main secular opposition accuses the ruling AK Party of trying to seize control of state institutions. The AKP's roots are in political Islam.

The AKP did not get a two-thirds majority, so the amendments will still have to go to a referendum.

The AKP says the reforms will help the country's application to join the EU.

The package was passed after a marathon four-day session.

But the AKP's attempt to make banning political parties more difficult was unexpectedly defeated on Tuesday.

The current constitution dates back to 1982, and was drafted after a military coup.

The government wants to restructure a judiciary which is frequently criticised by human rights groups.

The package includes limits on the jurisdiction of military courts. In addition, more judges would be appointed to the Constitutional Court and the powerful Higher Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) - with the president having a big role in their selection.

The main opposition CHP says it will challenge the package in the Constitutional Court - one of the institutions which would be most affected.

The AKP has clashed repeatedly with Turkey's highest courts, which see themselves as guardians of the secular values that were at the core of the political system established by Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Global shares fall on Greece debt worries

Global stock markets have fallen sharply, amid investor fears that Greece's debt crisis could halt the global economic recovery.

In the US, the Dow Jones index fell 0.6% in early trading, while France's Cac 40 was down 4%, the UK's FTSE 100 shed 2.6% and Germany's Dax lost 3.3%.

Japan's Nikkei index shed 3.1%, having fallen by 4.1% in morning trading.

Sterling also fell sharply against the dollar and the euro as results poured in from the UK general election.

The pound fell more than 3 cents, or 2.1%, against the dollar, to $1.4633.

Against the euro, it fell by 2.6 cents, or 2.2%, to 1.1478 euros.

With the majority of results counted, projections showed that no party was on course for an overall majority.

This raised concerns among investors that a weak government might not be able to implement policies quickly to reduce the UK's high budget deficit.

Contagion fear

The continued global turmoil on the stock markets comes a day after Greek MPs approved drastic spending cuts in exchange for an international financial rescue plan, amid violent protests in Athens.

European leaders meet in Brussels later to finalise details of a 110bn-euro ($139bn; £86bn) loan package to Greece, while the G7 finance ministers are also due to discuss the Greek debt crisis and its implications for the global economy.

Investors fear the Greek debt problem could spread to other European countries Masatoshi Sato Mizuho Investors Securities Check latest market data Robert Peston blog: Greek flu

"The reason for today's fall is what everybody knows - Greece," said Hideaki Higashi at SMBC Friend Securities.

"The market is factoring in the possibility that this Greek problem will spread to Spain and Portugal."

Both Spain and Portugal also have high budget deficits and were downgraded by Standard & Poor's credit rating agency last week. There are fears they could be engulfed by the Greek debt crisis.

Cash injection

Among the stock markets in Asia, South Korea's Kospi dropped by 2.2%, while China's Shanghai index fell 1.9%. Shares in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore also fell.

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he was "very concerned" by the losses.

The country's central bank said it would inject more than $20bn (£13bn) in short-term loans to commercial banks to boost liquidity.

"The Bank of Japan aims to increase a sense of security in the markets by providing ample funds," said Bank of Japan official Yuichi Adachi.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says the crisis in Europe hurts Japan because its economy has relied on exports for growth.

And as investors flee the euro for currencies perceived to be safer, such as the yen, Japan's currency strengthens, making the products of its companies more expensive abroad, our correspondent adds.

In New York, the Dow Jones share index plummeted 9% at one point before bouncing back to end Thursday down 3.2%.

The BBC's Caroline Hepker in New York says there are rumours that the drop may have been caused by an erroneous "fat finger" trade at a Wall Street bank.

The New York Stock Exchange said it had found no error, but the Securities and Exchange Commission and Procter & Gamble, which saw its shares hit, are reviewing the matter.

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Greece transport halts as anti-austerity strike extends

A general strike has been called across Greeece as protests against planned spending cuts and tax rises continue.
Trains, planes and ferries are at a standstill as transport workers join public sector workers who began their own 48-hour strike on Tuesday.
Austerity measures planned in return for a 110bn euro (£95bn) international rescue package for the debt-struck economy have sparked widespread anger.
The Greek parliament is to vote on the measures by the end of the week.
The measures include wage freezes, pension cuts and tax rises. They aim to achieve fresh budget cuts of 30bn euros over three years, with the goal of cutting Greece's public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%.
Acropolis raid
Flights in and out of Greece stopped at midnight, while trains and ferries remained were not running early on Wednesday.
Schools, hospitals, and many offices are expected to remain shut.
A mass rally is planned in central Athens before protest marches pass through the city, with the parliament expected to be again be a focus of attention. Several thousand teachers and students marched to parliament on Tuesday, carrying black flags and banners.
The demonstration was largely peaceful. But some scuffles broke out near the parliament building, with demonstrators throwing stones at riot police, who responded with pepper spray.
Dozens of Communist protesters broke into the ancient Acropolis at dawn, draping giant banners on the Parthenon temple reading: "Peoples of Europe Rise Up."
In other signs of discontent, on Monday a group of teachers forced their way into the main state broadcaster's studios in Athens to protest about education cuts.
Union leaders say the cuts target low-income Greeks.
"There are other things the [government] can do, before taking money from a pensioner who earns 500 euros (£430) a month," Spyros Papaspyros, leader of the public servants' union ADEDY, told Greek private television. The EU has agreed to provide 80bn euros (£69bn) in funding, while the rest will come from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The deal is designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt.
However, it must first be approved by some parliaments in the 15 other eurozone countries.
In return for the loans, Greece will make major austerity cuts which Prime Minister George Papandreou said involved "great sacrifices".
Are you in Greece? Are you taking part in the strike? What do you think of the austerity measures? Send us your comments using the form below.

NY bomb-plot suspect charged with terrorism

A Pakistan-born US citizen has been charged with terrorism and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction over the failed car-bomb attack in New York.
US authorities said Faisal Shahzad, 30, had also admitted to being trained in bomb-making in Pakistan.
Mr Shahzad was arrested on a Dubai-bound plane at JFK airport on Monday, two days after the car bomb was found.
Earlier, President Barack Obama vowed Americans would "not cower in fear" because of the Times Square incident. He said it was a "sobering reminder of the times in which we live" and vowed that justice would be done.
FBI search
Mr Shahzad is believed to have bought an SUV that was found loaded with an improvised explosive device in Times Square.
Two days after the bomb was discovered, he nearly managed to escape the US.
Despite his name being added to the government's no-fly list earlier on Monday, Mr Shahzad managed to buy a ticket on an Emirates flight to Dubai and made it through JFK's security checks late that evening.
Customs agents checking the passenger list realised Mr Shahzad's name was on it and stopped the flight with just minutes to spare as it taxied to the runway.
Investigators said the Connecticut resident implicated himself and told them he was acting alone.
But court documents stated that he admitted having attended a militant training camp in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan.
He apparently told investigators the plot had begun in December last year. The FBI searched Mr Shahzad's home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Tuesday morning and removed several filled plastic bags.
Sources have told the BBC that Mr Shahzad is the son of retired Air Vice Marshal Bahar-ul-Haque, a former head of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, but this is unconfirmed.
His family is said to come from the northern frontier city of Peshawar, close to the strongholds and training grounds of the Taliban.
Pakistani sources said Mr Shahzad married in Peshawar two years ago and his wife and at least one of their two young children are currently believed to be living in Karachi with relatives.
Earlier reports from Pakistan had said Mr Shahzad's father-in-law and another associate of the suspect have been arrested in the port city of Karachi.
But Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who has pledged to assist the US, denied the authorities had made any arrests.
Meanwhile at a news conference at the White House, Mr Obama praised the action of citizens and the authorities in New York as possibly saving hundreds of lives. "We know that the aim of those who try to carry out those attacks is to force us to live in fear," he said.
"But as Americans and as a nation, we will not be terrorised. We will not cower in fear. We will not be intimidated."
On Sunday, the Pakistani Taliban said it was responsible for the failed bombing attempt and it threatened suicide attacks on US cities.
But the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says there is no proof and many experts doubt they have the capacity to strike inside the US.
'Significant fireball'
The car containing a bomb made from fertiliser, fireworks, petrol and propane gas tanks was left in Times Square on Saturday evening. The 1993 Nissan Pathfinder was parked with its engine running and hazard lights flashing.
The bomb was discovered and dismantled before it could explode, after a street-vendor noticed smoke coming from the vehicle and alerted police.
Times Square was packed with tourists and theatregoers when the alarm was raised.
Police evacuated a wide area of the district and closed subway lines, while a controlled explosion was carried out.
Officials said the bomb was crude, but could have sparked a "significant fireball" and sprayed shrapnel with enough force to kill pedestrians and knock out windows